Steam
by drea13rk
Summary: B/K When Kaoru is threatened at the hot springs, Kenshin's passions come roaring to the surface with some unexpected consequences. What happens when His eyes turn gold and his goal becomes...seduction.
1. Chapter 1

REVISED!!!!!!!!!

This ficcy is MY remake of the hot springs episode where that artist falls in love with Kaoru. It starts out the same, but the results are MUCH different *evil grin* It's gonna get steamy!!!!!!! Enjoy and keep in mind that this is the set-up to my fic, the citrusy goodness will be in every chapter after this!!!! ENJOY!!! Don't forget to R&R!!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

****

Steam

Chapter One:

"Aaaaahh…this feels so good," said Kaoru, sinking lower into the steaming water as the torchlight illuminated her stunning features.

"I agree! These hot springs feel like heaven after a hard days work," answered Misao, her eyes closed as she adjusted the towel on her head. A friendly silence stretched between them as they relaxed their tired muscles in the warm water. Suddenly the older girl's posture turned a bit contrite and she steepled her index fingers together as she looked at them. 

" Ano…I'm sorry, Misao-chan. It was my Kenshin that got us into this mess. If he hadn't lost our money we wouldn't have been cleaning and cooking all day to make up for our expenses…" The ninja girl waved it off with a shake of her head.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Kaoru. We Oniwa Banshuu can handle anything…" She paused as a grin spread across her face and she threw Kaoru a sly look. "But I didn't know it was _MY_ Kenshin now…" she ended with a smirk as her friend's face turned bright red.

"Wha… ah…no!" she stuttered, "I didn't mean _that_! Me and Kenshin have nothing. I—"

"That's what I thought," Misao cut her off matter of factly. She lifted a shapely leg above the surface to admire her toes as Kaoru's mood changed from flustered to annoyed.

"Well, YOUR one to talk! What about you and Aoshi? Hmm? I haven't seen any progress with YOU two either!" she finished with a satisfied smile and crossed her arms over her naked breasts to watch her friend's reaction. But Misao only grinned.

"I don't care! I'll love my Aoshi-sama till the day I die!" She hugged herself dreamily as Kaoru rolled her eyes in disgust, but couldn't help her smile. 

'_I should have guessed…_'

Suddenly Misao jumped up, splashing Kaoru with water! 

"Someone's WATCHING us!" 

"Eeeeeeeeehhh???" Kaoru could only squeak as Misao grabbed the wooden bucket and hurled it into the bushes where it connected with an audible *THWACK*! And they stood there frozen for a moment as a dark shape stumbled out of the trees and fell before them.

"It…it…it's a MAN!!!" Misao shrieked as Kaoru stared dumbfounded at the unmoving figure, clutching her towel in front of her naked body. Suddenly, a low chuckle broke the silence and the girls watched in growing terror as ten more dark shaped materialized out of the darkness of the forest in front of them. 

"Well boys, looks like we found us some fiery beauties tonight, ne?" Laughter errupted from the other men, but they quieted when the obvious leader of the group, held up his hand. He looked both Kaoru and Misao up and down, absorbing there barely covered curves with his heated stare. The girls couldn't see the men very well due to the forest's shadows, but the men could see them very _very_ well.

"Hey! Who do you think you are snooping around in other people's privacy?!" yelled Misao as Kaoru stared in shock. The leader only laughed.

"Who am I? I am the owner of these hot springs, little lady. I own these hot springs…" his smile turned ruthless, "…and everything in 'em." He finished with a smirk. This sent his men into another bout of low, rumbling laughter. Misao growled.

The noise finally brought Kaoru to her senses and her eyes started to spark with anger.

"Whether you own these hot springs or not, you have NO right to watch us here! We paid for the time we have and we want it WITHOUT perverted men watching us!"

The leader took a sudden menacing step towards them and spoke in a cold, threatening voice.

"Paid for it, huh? That's not what I heard from my Innkeeper." The coldness of his voice suddenly dropped a few degrees making the girls shiver. "You're not lying to me are you?"

The girls only nodded as they backed up in fear. Misao gathered her wits first.

"Why should we take orders from dirty old men who hafta spy on girls to get some entertainment? You're pathetic!"

The leader only chuckled as he stepped into the ring of torchlight to reveal fine, chiseled features and a strong, muscled body that caused the girls' breathe to catch. 

"You can judge hold _old _we are for yourself, but the dirty part I won't deny. And as for the spying, I usually don't have to resort to it, but this pathetic wimp of an artist…" the leader motioned to the prone form on the ground, knocked unconscious by Misao's bucket. 

"He told us of the ultimate beauty I have residing at my hot springs and I wanted to see for myself."

He smirked. "And I can see now… he wasn't exaggerating… at _all_." 

He said these last words in a husky voice that sent chills down Kaoru and Misao's spines. 

But they didn't miss the cruelty and lust swimming in his gaze.

"So you're leaving the kid for us?" one of the shorter men asked, looking pointedly at Misao in disappointment.

"_NAANNIII_?!" Misao fumed.

"Sorry boys, but the tall one is all mine," again his voice grew chilly, "Got a problem with that?"

The Kaoru's eyes widened in shock when the subtle threat was accompanied by the metallic scrape of a sword sliding from its sheath. '_Oh my god…this is serious!'_

"Maa, maa Dokurou-sama," the man soothed hastily, both hands up to placate his leader. "We'd be more than happy to have the little one."

Kaoru almost fainted when she heard the name 'Dokurou'. She had heard many stories about him and his band of handsome devils while visiting the Akebeko. They had been terrorizing the countryside between Tokyo and Kyoto, raping and killing women by the dozens. She had thought nothing of it with Kenshin's warm, comforting presence by her side, but now it seemed much more…real.

She scrunched up her face, trying to remember what Tae had said that day…

****

"…I hear that once they finish with the poor girls, one of them runs her through as if she was making love to the sword! 

The other women gasped, eyes wide in delighted horror as her fand fluttered to her open mouth. "You don't SAY! What a TERRIBLE way to die!"

****

Kaoru's eyes snapped open as the memory ended. 'Make love to a sword? What the hell does that mean?!' But her musings were cut short when Dokurou's voice broke the silence.

"Hmm… I see you know my name. You must know what this meeting will eventually entail." He ended with a cruel twist of his lips. Kaoru only stared back at him in confusion.

His eyes narrowed considerably when he saw the blank look on her face. "Do you even know what happens between a man and a women?" He asked with disbelief. 

Kaoru's eyes fell to her toes as Misao scoffed.

"Of _course _she knows! What do you think we are? Kids? Wait! Don't answer that. Well, with Kenshin around all the time how can she NOT know?"

"Misao-chan!!" Kaoru pleaded.

"Well, don't you?"

All eyes turned to the blushing, half-naked, raven-haired beauty. Her eyes didn't rise from the ground.

"Ev-Even if I…I didn't… I'm not finding out tonight!" she replied helplessly, voice rising in anger.

Misao looked shocked and the men started laughing.

"Is that so?" Dokurou said in a low voice as his humor gave way to sick lust. "Well, you're in for a rough time tonight because that's the last thing you'll ever learn. How to make love to a sword."

The last sentence was the men's signal to advance and the girl's turned to run to the gate with a fairly big head start, not giving a second thought to their bare, white bottoms that served as perfect targets in the torchlight. Because the men weren't called devils for nothing.

Only a few steps from the gate, Misao fell to the ground with a muffled groan as the wooden bucket she had thrown earlier connected with the back of her knee, dislocating it. 

"Misao!" Kaoru was at the younger girl's side in an instant.

"Kaoru… g-go on! I can hold 'em off! Go get Kenshin! I'm an Oniwabanshu! I can do-"

"Don't be stupid! You're hurt! I'll take care of them, I have a plan. Just go through and shut the gate. Get Kenshin as fast as you can!"

"B-but—"

"NO! I'm NOT changing my mind! Now GO!" She pulled Misao to her feet and pushed her roughly through the gates, closing and barring them before turning to her pursuers.

Dokurou and his men were in no hurry to reach her. They seemed to walk towards her as they smiled smugly, already contemplating their triumph.

'They think I'm some helpless maiden, huh? Well, they're gonna get more then they bargained for!' she muttered to herself, trying to keep from panicking. _'Think of a plan, Kaoru! THINK!_'

Her eyes fell on a torch on the wall to her right and she grabbed it on impulse, brandishing it like a bokken in front of her.

The men stopped they're slow advance to watch her, amused.

"Oh, isn't this cute!" One of the uglier men called out. "What's she think she's gonna do with that?"

"What are you laughing at?" She cringed at how shrill her own voice sounded. "Stay BACK!"

They took a step forward.

She lunged at the ugly man, aiming to knock the victorious look off his face. Even with only one hand holding her makeshift weapon, since the other was holding her towel in place, she should be able to take a few of them out. 

But huge, cold hands wrapped around her wrist, anticipating her move and holding her captive against a hard body. Dokurou. The bruising touch brought her to reality as she realized just how serious her situation was… and how badly she was outmatched. 

"I would put it down if I were you, unless you _want_ to die a slow, painful death. I would hate to see such a beautiful creature die so horribly." Dokurou whispered into her ear without a trace of humor. 

Kaoru stared at him and he watched the emotions in her eyes change from fear, to anger, to rage. He should have been prepared, but lust was clouding his mind, and he was unable to avoid the warm, wet bullet that shot towards his eye.

She spit in his face.

Dokurou flung her into the wall so hard that and her head snapped back and cracked on the wooden planks.

His expression was unreadable as he wiped at the spittle that was slowly running down his cheek and watched as Kaoru's form slid down to the ground. 

Desire shot through his groins when he saw her milky thighs spreading from the towel now bunched at her hips. He licked her saliva from his fingers.

Kaoru caught his expression and tried to rearrange the small towel the best she could, stretching it in a futile effort to hide her young body from the men's hungry gaze.

With a lifted hand, Dokurou signaled for his men to retreat into the forest, which they did only reluctantly, as he started to advance on her blushing, trembling form. 

All she could do was pray that Misao was okay and was moving her gimpy ass as fast as she could to get to Kenshin. Her eyes grew ever wider as his shadow fell over her. 

'_This isn't happening! This ISN'T happening… is it?_'

Cold hands closed on her bare shoulders as even colder blue eyes bore into hers.

"KEEEENSHIIIIIINNN!"

TBC……..

WAAAAHH!!!!! FEEDBACK!!! Please review and tell me what you think!!!!!! Suggestions? TELL ME!!! And don't forget the B/K action is in every chapter AFTER this!!! This is only set-up for means for the Battousai to be released!!! MWAAHAHAHAHA!!!! Love ya alls!!!

XO Drea-chan XO


	2. Chapter 2

Konnichiwa minna-san!!!! I'm sorry this took so friggin long to update but I've had school, and tennis, and everything and it's CRAZY!!! Only ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LEFT!!! YAHOO! OMG I got reviews from one of my favorite authors and Kenshin!!!! AAAHH!!! I'm so happy!!!! If you like Inu-Yahsa read Sythetic Emotion by Saro!! And thanks to Princess Destiny for not being mad at me b/c our stories are similar! *sob* Well!!! Read and Enjoy!!!! AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! 

This ficcy is MY remake of the hot springs episode where that artist falls in love with Kaoru. It starts out the same, but the results are MUCH different *evil grin* It's gonna get steamy!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin * WAAAIIIIILLLL*

Chapter Two:

"Don't…call…me…a… KIIID!!!" Yahiko screeched as he leaped onto a certain chicken head and began gnawing away.

"Hey, HEY you little brat! You're gonna get hurt, Yahiko-_chan_!" came Sano's reply.

Kenshin smiled warmly as he watched his adopted family's usual bickering burst into an outright wrestling match. They'd been working for that innkeeper all day, mopping and sweeping, but those two still had enough energy to be rolling around on the wooden floor like a bunch of five year-olds. '_The only thing missing is Kaoru-dono_.' He mused to himself, and couldn't help his mind wandering in that direction. She was such a beautiful, innocent creature. The epitome of everything he was striving to protect, to cherish, to touch…

__

Her shimmering blue eyes, her midnight black hair, her untouched ivory skin and--- 

Kenshin cut that thought off quick before it could cause him any…well… frustrations. He shook his head as he settled against the wall adjacent to the door, his trusty sakaba by his side. But visions of the bokken-wielding goddess wouldn't leave his head, and he frowned as he wondered aloud,

"Kaoru-dono and Misao have been gone a long time, that they have." 

As soon as the observation left his lips, he felt a cold shiver run through his body and his senses sharpened automatically. It was a feeling of premonition he had learned to trust during his days as a hitokiri. 

Something was _very_ wrong.

As if on cue, the door slid open with a bang and three pairs of eyes swiveled towards the opening to take in a wet and trembling Misao, covered by nothing but a small bathing towel. Sano quickly covered a reddening Yahiko's eyes before calling out

"Oi! Misao-chan, what's going--" 

But he was cut short when Misao fell to the ground, heaving for breath. 

"Misao-dono!" Kenshin was at her side in an instant, his eyes narrowed when he saw her swollen knee and he looked at Sano who promptly grabbed a blanket and draped it over the gasping girl's shoulders. They waited in earnest for her to catch her breath. "Who did this, Misao-dono?"

"Dok-Dokurou… help…Kaoru…" she managed to wheeze out before she collapsed against Kenshin's chest in a dead faint. 

Sano watched with a wary gaze as Kenshin wordlessly turned away from them, scooped Misao into his arms, walked over to his futon, and gently placed her upon it. As he rose to his feet, his back was rigid and his fists were clenched.

Not a word was spoken. Even Yahiko knew what the name Dokurou entailed, especially where women were concerned. They had all heard the stories and rumors about Dokurou's cruelty and perversion, but…

'_That guy doesn't know what he's got comin'_,' Sano thought without a trace of humor. He could practically SEE the battle aura radiating from Kenshin, and he thought that maybe he should calm any _killer_ instincts before they left to rescue Kaoru.

"Uh, Kenshin-" 

His speech was cut short, however, when Kenshin abruptly turned to face him. The chicken breathed a sigh of relief. Kenshin was pissed all right, but his eyes were still purple…

"Sano- take care of Misao. Yahiko, get the police. I will be back, that I will."

…and his speech _still_ too damned polite, if a little strained.

"Oi! I'm not gonna stay here while you…"

But Sano was talking to thin air. Kenshin was gone.

"How come he gets all the action?" Sano grumbled to himself as he tucked some more blankets around Misao and began treating her leg.

******************

"KEEEENSHIIIIIINNN!"

Her scream echoed about the small enclosure before Dokurou slapped his hand over her mouth, pushing her onto the damp stones beneath him and straddled her hips with his knees.

"It's no use screaming, my dear. Everyone who works here is under my service, but your shrieks will make my head ache. So save us both some energy and keep you mouth shut."

Kaoru glared up at his smiling face before opening her mouth against his skin and sinking her pearly white teeth into the palm of his hand.

Dokurou let out a low hiss as he snatched his hand from her mouth to inspect the damage. 

A kind of dotted oval was on his palm, still white where she had bit down, but as the blood rushed back to that skin, drops of crimson began to well up from the bite marks. He chuckled.

"Well, well. Looks like I need to teach you a little lesson," he said as he pulled his hand back to slap her. Kaoru gasped as his huge hand started a swift descent towards her face. 

Instinctively, she covered her head with her arms and tried to draw her legs to her chest, but her right knee rammed into something, stilling her movements.

She waited, eyes squeezed shut, for Dokurou to do something, but all she heard was a strangled squeak, and she parted her arms a crack and slowly opened one eye to see what was going on.

If she hadn't been so scared, Kaoru would have found Dokurou's position quite comical. His great, muscled body was raised up above her, but his eyes were wide and staring blankly in front of him. His mouth had formed a lopsided 'O' and he was holding himself in a _very_ indecent manner. His eyes seemed to be shimmering with…

__

'Is he crying?' Kaoru thought incredulously before he toppled off her into a heap on the ground, and curled into a ball, still clutching his privates. '_Oh my God! I must have kneed him before he slapped me_!' she realized as she remembered banging her knee earlier. _'But I didn't hit him _that_ hard…_'

She rose to her feet shakily to make for the hot spring's door. But curiosity got the best of her and she poked her former assailant with her toe to see his reaction, filing away this "subduing" technique for future reference. "That's what you get, you PERVERT!" she added with a kick.

"You little bitch…" was his breathless reply. She abruptly turned back towards the gates at his words. If he had enough breath to speak now, she wanted to be gone when he found the strength to 

She needed to get out before whatever had caused Dokurou such intense pain got any better. 

She started to run towards the gates without looking back. When she reached the doors, she flung down the bar and had the door halfway open before a hand shot past her head, slamming the door back shut. She had hesitated a little too long.

She was so disappointed, all she could do was stare at the male hand still pressed against the wooden gate. It seemed red in the torchlight and if she squinted her eyes just enough, it kind of looked like it was on fire itself. 

"A pervert am I?" a low, forced voice whispered into her ear. "I think it's about time I showed you just how perverted I can get." 

And with those words, Kaoru watched as the hand in front of her suddenly rushed towards her face, smothering any protest as she was hoisted over Dokurou's shoulder, and flung unceremoniously into the hot spring.

Koaru gasped as the steaming water engulfed her and she jumped up to stand away from the burning liquid. But cold air blew against every part of her body and it took her a full ten seconds before she realized Dokurou had taken her towel.

She fell back into the water with a splash, covering her nakedness, before swimming to the side of the hot spring farthest from Dokurou.

Dokurou gazed at the raven-haired beauty, up to her chin in water. He noticed the way she shivered with fear and embarrassment, but still managed to pin him with a defiant glare. 

Her spirit impressed him and it made him excited. He knew she was different from the other women he had killed, who had begged for mercy with no pride.

It would take him a long time to break her and he would enjoy every second of it. But then he would kill her slowly for all the trouble she'd caused him. Her wavering voice broke him from his musings.

"You won't get away with this. Kenshin will come."

He only laughed as he took a step into the water.

"Kenshin? Is that your lover? I think not. My innkeeper tells me everything, You love this Kenshin, but he could care less if you were alive."

"I don't think our relationship is THAT bad…" Kaoru said, paddling backward as Dokurou advanced towards her.

"Well, you don't see him here now do you? Now when you need him. No one can save you now." 

He was quickly closing the precious gap between them and Kaoru was growing desperate. She whipped away from him in one last attempt to escape. 

But to no avail. Dokurou was simply too fast, and he grabbed her before she could set even one foot out of the pool, spun her around, and crushed his lips against hers.

Kaoru was mortified. Never had a man touched her so intimately and after her initial shock she began to struggle frantically, her head swinging back and forth in order to break contact. But his mouth continued to roam all over her face. 

He crushed her body against his as his big hands groped her bottom. She cried out when his handling became rough and he began to squeeze her tender flesh.

She reached behind her to try to pry his hands away, but it was a false move. He used the opportunity to grab her wrists so she was completely at his mercy

Tears began to fall from under her lashes when he tried to separate her lips with his tongue. She had never experienced anything like this before and all she could do was cry silently as she kept her mouth clamped shut. 

"Why don't you scream now?" he asked cruelly. Daring her to open her mouth. He only chuckled when she pinned him with a watery glare. '_She's got so much fire_,' he mused, before he made another dive for her mouth.

__

'Kenshin…help me' was all Kaoru thought as she felt Dokurou's teeth on her lips. It hurt and she squeezed her eyes shut tight to keep from crying out.

But suddenly she felt Dokurou go completely still as she felt something cold and hard pressed against her neck. '_It feels like… a sword?!_'

Her eyes snapped open only to stare into Dokurou's equally shocked ones as they glared at something over her shoulder. She saw the point of the sword that was touching her neck, was poking threateningly into his neck, right under his chin. 

The sword-wielder was standing behind them at the edge of the spring, and all Kaoru could see was his shadow cast upon them by the torchlight. She dearly hoped he was a friend, not another enemy.

'_I didn't even hear him approach._'

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when Dokurou finally overcame his shock and anger flooded across his handsome face. 

"Who do you think you are? These are MY hot springs and this woman is mine. Now leave us be unless you want to suffer the consequences." He bit out in a tone more annoyed and angry then scared.

Kaoru held her breath as she waited for her faceless rescuer's response. She heard a sort of low growl and then her body froze completely at his first words.

"No. You are wrong. She is MY woman and YOU will suffer the consequences for touching her, that…you…will."

TBC…

And there it is!!! Chapter two!!!!! OMG I'm SORRY it's another cliffy!!! Don't kill me!!! Sorry it took so long, but I hope it was worth it!! Hehehehe. Sorry there isn't any B/K action yet, but I wanted to get this up as soon as possible!! There most DEFINITELY will be some next chapter!! Well????? What'd you think???? You like?? THEN REVIEW!! Please?? And thank you SOOOOOOOOOOO much for all the reviews I've gotten from everyone!! I'm glad you've liked it so far!! Well, don't forget to review! I LOVE YOU!

Here's some special thanks!

JML: My first reviewer!!! You always help me out so much and don't worry I will NOT say THE battousai ever again!!

Amamiya: OMG I LOVE your Fragments ficcy! I'm so happy you read my fic! There WILL be some ass-kicking DON'T WORRY!

Ann: Yup!!! He saved her!! Don't worry, I would NEVER EVER EVER write a ficcy where Kaoru got raped, unless it was by Kenshin, but I mean that in a GOOD way, if that makes any sense.

Kyanos: Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Misao's, but she'll get her Aoshi, don't worry!

Chiruken: aaahhh! I'm so happy you reviewed! I'm glad you like it so much!

Quaenya: oh, his passion is strong, lemme tell you! Hehe

Azure Dragoness: Sorry, sorry I didn't update in forever!! I hope you liked this and put your spatula away!

Kawaii Chica: Thank you! I'm glad it's one of your favorites! I feel so loved!

Nanashi: thanks for the three reviews! Sorry it took so long for the update!! ;)

Shadiyaray: YEAH HE'S SEXY!

Animegirl: I think he's hotter when he kills too!! Battousai all the way! But I don't think he's gonna kill anyone in my ficcy.

Metropolis Dream: ummm… *cowers* please don't hate me!! I hope you like this! Sorry I took so long to update!

Saro: OMG I can't believe you reviewed! *starry eyed* I LOVE your writing!!! Aahhhh! Everyone! If you like Inu-Yasha READ SYTHETIC EMOTION! It's amazing!!!! 

Full Moon: Thank you soooo much for the review!! I LOVE your idea and I'm really considering it for chappie 3. Can you help me? And e-mail me or have Kenshin e-mail me?

Kenshin: Okay, I'm in love with kenshin and I feel SO cool b/c I got an e-mail from you!!! AAHHH! I'm such a dork!!!

Thanks for the reviews everyone!!!

XO Drea XO


	3. Chapter 3

And finallyyyyyyyy it's chappie three!!!! Man! It's been forever, I know it!! I've just been SO SO SO busy with school and volleyball! I just hope this is worth it! OH! Did everyone hear that Kenshin is coming out in manga next month!!!! YEEAHHH!!! Can't wait!! Okay, I won't talk much longer! I need to get this sucker posted before I get anymore mean e-mails for not updating sooner!! *sob* hehe Well, Don't forget to review!!! And ENJOY!!! Oh yeah! Thank T-moe, teabiscuit, and vampirehunter for staying on my bootay about updating! 

Disclaimer: Though it is my fondest wish, I do not own Rurouni Kenshin……*WAIL*

Steam 

Chapter 3:

"Sano-take care of Misao. Yahiko, get the Police. I will be back, that I will."

Kenshin saw Sanosuke's mouth open, but he didn't wait to hear what he had to say. He didn't have time to waste on his friend's protests. He was too busy trying to repress a dark, intense feeling that had steadily been building somewhere inside him ever since he'd heard the name Dokurou. 

'_If he's touched her, I swear I'll_…'  

Kenshin's teeth clenched as he shook his head to stop that particularly _violent_ thought. Instead he moved faster down the torch-lit path, the scenery blurring past as he moved at an ungodly pace towards the springs. He could have sworn he heard her scream his name. 

Kaoru… 

His speed increased more at the thought of her, naked and helpless, just as Misao had been. His eyes narrowed as he imagined another man looking at her, another man touching her…

'_Kuso…'_

Suddenly the hot spring wall rose before him and without even slowing, he leaped over it with an animalistic growl, landing in a crouch on the other side, ready to pounce. 

'_I smell fear…_'

He made no sound as he rose to his full height, vision piercing the steam as he looked for his quarry.

He heard a whimper and then a rumbling voice drifted to him from somewhere to his left. Turning sharply towards the sound, he walked soundlessly forward as the steam parted to permit his entry. 

The scene before him caused his teeth to sink into his cheek, drawing blood, and his pupils shrunk as his eyes darkened to a deep indigo.

A man with dark hair and cold eyes was holding Kaoru pinned between the hot spring wall and his body. He could see the creamy white skin of her shoulders above the ground level, half-hidden by her raven tresses. But then her ivory skin was covered with bronze as the man grabbed her shoulders roughly and crushed his mouth against hers. 

'_No…**mine'**_

His sakaba slid from its sheath instantly. The motion a primal instinct… an instinct to protect what was _his. _

He stepped up to the edge behind Kaoru and let his battle ki flare, just a little, and watched with satisfaction when the other man stiffened at the hostile aura. He then slid his sakaba along Kaoru's neck until the sharp tip pushed into the other man's pulse point, forcing him off Kaoru with a dangerous pressure. 

The man's startled gaze traveled up the length of the sword until it settled on its owner. Careful to keep his face shadowed, Kenshin watched as the man took in his insignificant height and tattered clothes, and finally arrogance and annoyance replaced the fear on his face.

"Who do you think you are? These are MY hot springs and this woman is mine. Now leave us be unless you want to suffer the consequences."

If Kenshin hadn't been so mad, he would have laughed out loud at this so-called Dokurou's lack of perception. '_Can't he see my restraint? Can't he see I hold his life in my hands?'_

Obviously the lust-ridden murderer was blind to the fact that Kenshin was keeping his true aura in check, and that behind his ragged appearance was the instincts of a trained killer. The most notorious in all of Japan, to be precise.

'_Why keep him in the dark?_' Kenshin thought ruthlessly before releasing his true ki. He growled out loud as he directed the energy to flow down his arm and through his sakaba to finally wash over Dokurou. His voice came out deceivingly mild.

"No. You are wrong. She is MY woman and YOU will suffer the consequences for touching her, that…you…will."

The other man's eyes widened at both the redheaded man's burning ki and the implied words. He didn't miss Kaoru's gasp of surprise either, and quickly put two and two together.  However, it took him several moments to steady his jumping nerves and swallow the lump that had suddenly risen in his throat. The latter proving to be quite difficult with a sword digging into his skin.

'_Remember, you have the upper hand_,' Dokurou reminded himself, glancing towards the trees. '_It's ten to one…I just need time…'_

"So, you must be Kenshin," he broke off in a laugh, perhaps a little louder than necessary. "I've heard _so_ much about you." 

Kenshin's voice remained flat as his sword twisted a fraction deeper into Dokurou's neck. 

"Have you?" 

The dark-haired man held his hands up in surrender as he stumbled backwards in the water, his over-confident grin faltering slightly as blood tricked from the prick in his skin. 

Kaoru watched the red trail in fascination as a thought struck her. 

'_The Kenshin I know wouldn't hurt someone intentionally_…' 

She barely felt the sword slide away from her neck as she stood and spun around quickly, forgetting her nudity, forgetting the sadistic man behind her. She had only one thought in mind: Calm Battousai. 

"Kenshin, you… mustn't…" but the words died as a whisper in her mouth at the sight before her. 

He had begun to step into the hot spring. The toned muscles in his thighs became defined through his hakama as he lowered himself gracefully into the water before her. Her eyes fell to his sword then, still held firmly in his right hand, then traveled up his arm to the tense muscles in his shoulders, then finally to his face. 

A thick curtain of hair hid his eyes. The red locks had begun to darken and curl from the steam and the torchlight played with his loose ends, giving the illusion of fire. 

But even more intriguing, the steam had dampened his clothes as well. And the pathetically worn material of his gi, now wet, drooped open to reveal his finely chiseled chest and the rippled hardness of his stomach, his skin slick with moisture. 

She didn't dare look any lower and instead returned her entranced gaze to his face.

She watched wide-eyed as his sculpted lips curled up into a smile and then finally realized she was blatantly staring at Kenshin. 

And he knew it. 

Tearing her eyes away, she looked down to hide her blush only to see her own bare breasts. She didn't move for several moments as the fact that Kenshin had seen her naked, waist deep in water, slowly sunk into her brain. 

'_So _that's_ why he's smiling! That HENTAI!'_

Her fear was forgotten as embarrassment and fury clouded her thoughts. With an angry sniff, she spun away from Kenshin only to be met with the sinister gaze of a certain serial killer she had forgotten was watching. 

Her anger faded as his grin grew. His icy eyes remained on her as he spoke to Kenshin.

"Your women? I think you've already had your chance to take her… and now I want mine!"

Dokurou smirked when Kenshin visibly tensed. '_And now to get rid of this punk…' _

Dokurou whistled a signal to his waiting men and grinned as if victory was already his. He watched Kenshin for signs of surprise, but the smaller man only kept his head down, not even glancing at the nine men advancing on his back. 

'_Aw, well, the sooner he's dead the better…but why doesn't the woman warn him?_' Dokurou wondered. When he had whistled, Kaoru had spun around to see what was happening, and was remaining completely silent as Kenshin's seemingly inescapable doom surrounded him from behind. Her eyes remained glued to Kenshin's obscured face as if awaiting a kind of signal from him.

Then it finally came in Kenshin's clear voice.

"Ten to one hardly seems fair, that it doesn't." 

Kaoru sighed in what seemed to be relief, which Dokurou just could not understand. His confusion only added to his surprise, however. This Kenshin had acted like he knew the men had been there all along. Exactly where and how many.

'_Calm down, you're thinking too much_,' Dokurou convinced himself. He shrugged and grinned instead.

"Yes, I must admit the odds are a bit unfair. I'd kill you myself, but I hardly have the time, or patience, to waste on a little fuck like you, so if you'll excuse me…" Dokurou then motioned for his men to close in for the kill as he took a step towards Kaoru. "…I have some fucking of my own to do."

Dokurou kept his gaze on Kenshin as he waded up behind Kaoru, watching for any hostile action, but the only movement coming from the small man was a slight shaking of his shoulders. 

Dokurou's eyes narrowed on Kenshin's bowed head as his shoulders shook as if he were crying.

'_No…he's not crying, he's… _laughing_?!_'

 Dokurou's eyes widened as a low chuckle reached his ears, and then, everyone froze when Kenshin suddenly threw back his head as his deep, rumbling laughter filled the enclosure the way Kaoru's screams had only minutes before.

Everyone watched the red-haired man, transfixed as his laughter slowly died and he leveled a wide grin at Dokurou as if he had just told the funniest joke in the world, and he talked to him in a tone that one would use with a close friend.

"No, no, no. When I said the odds didn't seem fair, I didn't mean for me…I meant for you, that I did."

Dokurou and his men blinked once before barking with laughter of their own at the ridiculousness of that statement. Dokurou's chuckles died away as he took his first good look at Kenshin's face. He couldn't help but smile as the purple-eyed little man grinned amiably in the face of certain death.

"How could a 5-foot-nothing, red-haired, scar-faced punk like you …"

Dokurou's smile froze mid-sentence. His men looked at him quizzically for a second, unable to see Kenshin's face from behind. But realization quickly took root as the description suck in. A description of a man they had all thought to be legend.

'_Oh shit…_' was the mutual thought running through the gang's 11 heads.

Dokorou, once again, recovered quickly, only to change tactics as he backed slowly away from Kaoru, and smiled, if a bit stiffly back at Kenshin.

'_Stay calm; it might not even be him! Just buy time. Distract him…somehow!_' were his frantic thoughts as he realized he didn't need more time to kill an annoyance; he needed time to keep that annoyance from killing him. 

Kenshin was no fool. He felt the instant the men's ki changed from bloodthirsty to apprehensive. They had recognized him. He waited patiently for the ringleader to make the first move, and it came quicker than he expected.

"Well, Kenshin, if this woman is indeed yours, then you will have no problem proving it to us…_all_ of us," he added with a flourish, stepping out of the hot spring with a triumphant grin as Kenshin stood momentarily shocked at the sudden offer.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Dokurou, but then he looked down a Kaoru's beautiful, flushed face and smirked with satisfaction. 

'_Now I have a reason_.' 

Kenshin's purple gaze leveled once again with Dokurou's icy one and he answered just as swiftly.

"I have no problem…that I don't"

TBC…

HAHAAAAAAAA!!!! IT'S DOOOOOOONE!!! For now anyway!!! You're all gonna hafta wait for the lemony stuff ONE MORE TIME though!!! I've decided to put that part in a separate chapter, since it was taking too long to write! Well??? What'd you think?? Tell me your thoughts, your concerns, your ideas!!! Just hit that button and REVIEW!!! I love you all! And I'd respond to ALL of your reviews if I could but I just don't have TIME!!! You know why??? Cuz I got over A HUNDERED REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! Thank you SO much for your enthusiasm and your comments!!!!  I'll try hard to update the lemony chapter sooner!!

SO… to all you reviewers: Yes, Kenshin IS a hottie, there WILL be lots of sexual situations and tension, this story DOES continue after this particular hot spring scene (I've got lots of goodies planned!!) and there will most DEFINITELY be plenty of Battousai!! 

Until next time!!! 

Hoy!  T-moe!!!! I love ya darling! (she's gonna be helping me with the lemon *blush* I'm a first timer! Hehe)


	4. Author's Note

**Hello Dear Readers!**

I know, I know. Where the _hell_ did I just come from?

It's been quite some time since I last updated, but for some reason the past week has brought me back to this site… after nearly 7 years.

I've graduated from college, I'm a professional artist and I've moved to the East Coast to build my portfolio and visit potential graduate schools for my MFA… I'm right where I want to be in life, but it's a funny little breath of refreshing nostalgia to rediscover this place…. as oxymoronic as that sounds!

Looking through my stories and reviews, it's amazing how much I've changed. I was all enthusiasm and innocence! But not just myself… it's incredible how many people in general come of age while using this site…. Haha. Oh, the world we live in today!

**BUT!**

Let's get to what I'm sure all you reviewers are TRULY interested in… my stories.

Folks, I've been around the world and working in my real passion: Painting. Although I'm still wholly appreciative of Anime, its wonderful art form and the effects it has on my own visual language, it just hasn't been a part of my life for the better part of the past decade. Haha… Although, my freshmen year of college, my animation professor did show Samurai X to my class as an example of the depth animation reaches today… I just about hyperventilated in my seat!

Anyway, I digress yet again….

**Steam….** My gratuitous twist on the notorious Hot Springs episode that never got to the good stuff! (As earnest as I was in my younger days, I would have killed myself for that cliffhanger, too!)

Although some of the things in my writing and storyline make me roll my eyes (Kaoru is unaware of male sex organs and their sensitivity? Give me a break…), I don't think I will edit what I already have.

**Bad news:**

I worked on these stories from notebooks during class in High School as well as the good ol' trusty desktop at my parents' house.

What does this mean, you ask?

As I said before, I've been to school AND moved across a third of the country. I don't have access to the files I was working on before my long (looong) hiatus. Thus, I will have to start Chapter 4 from scratch and with only incredibly vague recollections of what my intentions were for B & K.

**Good News:**

I actually INTEND to finish this piece! Yes! That is gospel, I would think…

As for anyone wondering after my other three pieces… I haven't decided about those yet. They are bit more involved than Steam is and, just as I explained above, the files are lost in the recesses of the antique computer gathering dust in my childhood home.

**Apologies:**

I adamantly refuse to apologize for my absence as I'm positive everyone has had ample diversions whilst the waiting. I WILL however apologize (with a devious smirk) for bursting expectant bubbles with a mere author's note instead of the long overdue update.

In short, I have reappeared from oblivion…. And with _intention!_ (At least for now…)

Stay well, readers, and have just a bit more patience with me…

(To those familiar with_ Dune_… consider this some practice in _spannungsbogen_)

xxx


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